


Hurts will come undone

by Webtrinsic



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Apologies, Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Guilt, Hurt Ahsoka Tano, Hurt/Comfort, Malnutrition, Panic Attacks, Protective Anakin Skywalker, The Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24419452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Webtrinsic/pseuds/Webtrinsic
Summary: The start of their bond is rocky, and it isn't just Anakin who's hurt the young Togruta, but it is up to him to fix it.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 7
Kudos: 214





	Hurts will come undone

**Author's Note:**

> i need more fics where ahsoka's lekku and montrals are hurt, and more protective anakin

She hasn’t been his padawan for very long, and they’d been in one another's company for even less than that. The chosen one sent her away when he’d gotten annoyed at her questions while the clones regarded her as a misplaced child. 

Fourteen years old and at war, a teacher who wouldn’t teach her, and an onslaught of new horrors invading her mind. Master Plo Koon was out, as was her only friend Bariss, meaning she had nowhere to turn to with her plight. As if she’d ever actually tell them the whole truth.

Ahsoka padded throughout the temple, head tilted down as she passed the other Padawans in the halls, ashamed as they snickered at her. Comments projected loudly through their mouths and the force whenever she was close.

_ Unwanted. Unworthy. Foolish. Naive. Annoying. Crude. Pathetic. Pitiful.  _

There were others, still hurtful but easier to brush off than the rest. Quickening her steps, Ahsoka found herself in the temple's garden. She could feel Master Plo Koon’s presence in the plants around her, he’d left an imprint in their roots as he tended to them. They were little comfort to her.

Anakin would send her away soon, she’d be surprised if he didn’t. He hadn’t wanted her to begin with, and now that he found her as more of a nuisance than anything else, keeping her around didn’t make any sense.

He may act like it, but Anakin was far from stupid. She could easily see why he’d get rid of her. He was the chosen one, he didn’t need a padawan. And...if he wanted one, he should have been able to choose.

He didn’t pick her, she’d been offered up to him likely because she herself was hopeless. Maybe Master Yoda believed she was so troublesome they’d need the chosen one to shapen her into what they wanted.

Rumour had been the council and her Master didn’t see eye to eye so another padawan had laughed in her face, suggesting she’d only been assigned to him as a punishment. That accusation had affected Ahsoka more than she cared to admit.

The Togruta’s stomach churned, hunger eating her up inside, needing something to placate that necessity she couldn’t bring herself to have. Sleep had been out of her grasp as well, nightmares and pranks keeping her from rest.

Normally a padawan when taken in by a master was assigned a room attached to their masters. Anakin had yet to offer that to her, meaning she was still bunking with the others. Ahsoka couldn’t even count on her fingers how often she’d wake to another girl trying to mess with her in her sleep.

She really should have requested a meeting with the council by now, but what would she have said? Shame would wash over her if she even had to utter her concerns. She’d just have to deal with this herself.

* * *

Anakin reached out through the force as he did everynight on his way out of the temple. His body jolting when a presence began to approach. He’d never once ran into anyone when sneaking out before.

“Master Skywalker,” Her voice was a candle coming to light in the dark, the sight of Master Shaak Ti terrified him even when her presence brought the uppermost feeling of peace. 

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” she amended, making him realize his shields had lowered in his state of panic.

“Master Shaak Ti, I- um,” Anakin didn’t mean to stammer but he was clearly at a loss for words as the Togruta stepped closer. 

“It matters not to me where you run off too in the middle of the night. I simply wish to discuss something in private with you. If your other engagement can’t spare any extra time could you meet me soon so we can chat?” Shaak Ti’s violet eyes implored him to answer, a regal beauty and aura emanating in the air.

He didn’t want to keep Padme waiting, although she’d seemed drained over the holo, it was likely she’d be asleep by the time he arrived so he could spare his fellow Master a few moments.

“It can wait, let’s go somewhere private,” Anakin offered his arm which the Togruta took easily, following in step with the Chosen one as he led them to the library. Shaak Ti took them to a peaceful empty corner with plush chairs, settling across from him before her gaze turned predatory.

Anakin held back a gulp, having never seen Shaak Ti upset.

“I wanted to discuss your padawan,” The Togruta crossed her arms over her chest, leaning forward in her seat to show her attention. 

“Did she do something?” Anakin rasped, nervous and angry all at the same time. He knew instantly it’d been the wrong thing to ask because the light blue lines on her lekku and montrals nearly went black.

“It's you who has done something, and when I say something I mean nothing. You have yet to form a bond, or even formally bestow her with her beads,” The Togruta’s facial markings pulled as she frowned and Anakin felt sick for causing her reaction.

A spark of anger followed, “Is there more you have to say to me, Master?” Shaak Ti sighed, somehow gracefully. Rising, her robes bristled against the ground as she moved and sat beside him, her gentle hand resting on his arm.

“I’m not telling you this to upset you. I’m telling you this because I asked Yoda to assign her to you for a reason,” the information surprised the chosen one because he’d been sure Master Plo Koon had spoken for her.

Waves of comfort travelled through the force, her fingers gently stroking the back of his artificial hand as she spoke.

“I chose her because I remember a young boy who was very lost, and who felt so very alone even when he said he wasn’t. The other padawans weren’t very kind to him either, but he had his Master to assure him all was okay,” 

Blush painted Anakin’s features as she spoke, his knuckles being carefully swept over by her nimble fingers.

“You must remember Master Skywalker, you are of great importance. I do not know if Master Yoda will change his decision on appointing you a padawan, but if you’re going to make a habit of rejecting them, I hope you do so gently. Ahsoka has been facing many obstacles due to your inaction, I believe an apology or change of attitude must go underway Skywalker, or Master Yoda and Master Windu may call you into council,” The Togruta stood, giving him a soft bow before beginning to retreat.

“Wait! The other padawans have been...because of me?” Anakin nearly whimpered, guilt eating him up inside. 

The woman's head turned but not far enough to face him before she spoke, “Have a good rest of your night Master Skywalker,”

* * *

It may have been late but the padawans room was bustling with the force, they never seemed to sleep. Ahsoka’s force signature wasn’t one he was exactly used to yet, on missions it was a blip to watch out for so now that he was at the door he wasn’t quite sure if she was even there.

Pressing on the chime before he could back out, he heard the ruffling crash and the giggles of the female padawans as one presumably scurried to answer the door. With a swishing sound a padawan was standing before him, her cheeks immediately flushing while her eyes went wide.

“Master Skywalker,” the human stammered, earning the attention of the other girls who immediately peaked out.

“I’m sorry for coming at such a late hour, I need to speak with my padawan,” from the hitches of breath heard around him, Anakin knew the request seemed to shock them even when it shouldn’t have.

“I’m sorry Master Skywalker, she’s not in her bed,” the girl informed, gesturing to the lone bed at the end of the room, the mattress bereft of its owner. Anakin didn’t ask permission as he entered, gathering his padawans pillow and blanket before excusing himself without another word.

Thankfully there was no one else roaming the halls to see him as he returned to his room. He made sure to actually make her bed rather than simply leave the blanket and pillow bundled on top.

Worry pounded at his temples, she wasn’t in bed, so where was she? The temple was decently sized and she hadn’t been in the library or any of the halls he’d taken that night. His feet moved quickly as he explored as many of the open room’s he could come across.

The sudden tight chested worry completely blotted out his rationality because he didn’t even think to look through the force for her. His eyes needed to land on his padawan so he could assure himself she was there and assess. Then the Force could step in.

The chosen one stopped, breath catching in his throat as he ran through the garden, stopping completely when he caught sight of orange skin and grey montrals. Her normally white lekku were tinged and the soft blue stripes were darker than normal. 

Walking on the tips of his feet to absorb some of the sound, Anakin knelt beside the small togruta. The padawan was sleeping curled against a planter that reeked of Master Plo Koon’s presence. 

Anakin didn’t hesitate to bunch the young one in his arms, her head lolling into the crook of his neck as he stood. Her body was even lighter than he assumed it'd be, so much so it wasn’t hard to tell there had to be some sort of malnourishment involved.

She was sick, and one couldn’t deny that, not with her lack of stirring to his hold or her pale skin and weak limbs. Ahsoka needed medical attention quickly. 

“It’s going to be okay,” he assured against the sleeping bodies montrals before doing the same through the force which gained him a reaction. He wondered immediately why he hadn’t paid much attention to her signature before because it was certainly unique.

At the moment it was dim and affected by sickness, but he was sure when it was strong it would be even more intriguing. For the time being he could only describe it as the brushing winds, twirling and pulling in a small cyclone. Not yet the tornado that it would be at full strength, but alluring and all-consuming all the same.

Her signature curled away from his own, weary and embarrassed, so Anakin pressed on. 

_ “‘I’m here Ahsoka, let me take care of you, my padawan,’”  _ the padawan curled closer both in the force and in person, their reaching out wasn’t enough to form a bond but it was enough to reassure one another.

He’d form a bond when she wasn’t indisposed. 

A medic droid met him at the door, it motioning to the bed for him to set her down. Something felt wrong as he pillowed her head and covered her with a blanket, instinct telling him to keep her close to him.

_ “‘It’s okay my padawan,’”  _

The togruta’s fingers twitched in her sleep as the droid began its work. Her breath hitching as a needle breached her skin, montrals seemingly getting darker by the second.

Anakin took her hand in his own, worry palpable as the medic droid droned on.

* * *

Ahsoka’s lashes fluttered as she woke, she didn’t recognize where she was because it wasn’t the garden nor was it the medical bay. It didn’t take her long to figure it out though, the posters and the loose droid pieces told her where she was immediately.

“There you are snips,” The togruta looked up at the words, cataloging quickly how _snips_ had come out of her master’s lips with warmth and relief.

“Master?” 

Anakin stood back up from where he’d been leaning in the doorway before moving over to his padawan, slipping his glove off his non bionic hand and pressing it to the young Togruta’s forehead.

“How are you feeling?” Anakin let his hand fall from his padawan’s head, quickly moving it to her back as she pulled herself into a sitting position. He’d rather she lay back down but she still needed to eat and he didn’t think she’d react well to him trying to lay her back down. 

Anakin sensed the hesitation from her as her head lowered, montrals dark and Anakin immediately realized that dark sad blue was quickly becoming his least favorite color. He could also feel her urge to lie, to assure him that she was okay when she wasn’t. It wasn’t hard to see why Shaak Ti referred Ahsoka to him, because the more he spent time with the young padawan, the more it felt like he was looking in a mirror.

The girl sighed, trying still to distance herself with her question but also needing the clarification, “Mentally or Physically?”

“Let’s start with physically,” Anakin suggested, mindlessly pulling the blankets higher around her shoulders. The action surprised her enough to bring her attention back to him rather than her lap.

“I’m a little dizzy, and moving is...strenuous,” her last words were methodical as if she was talking to a droid and not her master.

“And mentally?” 

He was met with silence and a flash of her now watery blue eyes before she ducked even further away from his gaze. She didn’t know how to explain so she did the only thing she could.

Anakin felt the tendrils of her signature reaching towards him, akin to a child reaching out a trembling hand under the impression it was only going to be slapped away. Anakin couldn’t lie and say he imagined forming a bond this way, but he’d never imagined making a bond with a padawan at all.

Reaching out, Anakin curled around her offering, accepting it eagerly. Maybe a little too eagerly because a wave of confusion ran through him. 

_ ‘‘’Do you still want to be my padawan?’’ _ he was forced to ask before he could complete the melding.

_ “‘Yes,’” _ it was saying something that even her voice throughout the force was desperate. It wasn’t graceful as she jumped further to connect them, the bond sealing, immediately bombarding Anakin with the girl's plight.

The togruta jumped as Anakin shot out to hug her to his chest, it proved to be the final straw because she broke into a fit of tears, soaking his tunic clean through. The master reached out to the bedside table, picking up the beads to bestow upon her.

“I believe it’s time you got these,” he murmured into her montrals. 

“Thank you Master,” tears still fell from her eyes but her lips were stretched into a smile that he was helpless not to return.

* * *

Master’s and their Padawan’s were bound by their feelings, pain, and emotions. So when they were out on a mission looking for a violent separatist, Anakin was forced to grit his teeth when a random vendor they brushed off grabbed Ahsoka’s back lekku.

His padawan screamed, crashing onto the ground, her dainty hands shooting to the back of her head trying to protect the bruised appendage. Rex being the closest slammed into the vendor, a blessing for the vendor really because it saved him from Anakin force pushing him away from his injured padawan.

Quick breaths blew out of the kneeling padawan, overstimulated, her sensitive hearing amplified. She could still feel the fingers digging into her flesh, pressure clawing out from within her skull, thick against the back of her eyes making them leak.

As much as Anakin wanted to ignite his saber or pummel the man, a...paternal? feeling overtook him, he needed to check on Ahsoka first. Her orange frame shook, her face almost as white as her facial markings, her voice shrill the second he put a hand on her.

“Let go of me!” the togruta scrambled backwards, her panic seeping into his bones through the force. He could feel her body cramping, the urge to flee strong. Passerby’s turning to look at the girl with looks of sympathy, meaning darkened gazes turned towards the jedi and trooper surrounding her, apparently having missed her original assault.

Her lips wobbled, words trying to tumble out to no avail. Her skin quickly becoming clammy, an abundance of sensation overrunning her. The sand and rocks she was sitting on painting her legs, the wind and bustling of people grating against her temples.

“Ahsoka,” Anakin hissed in an attempt to stay quiet but also gain her attention. 

Her eyes may have been on him, but she wasn’t seeing him. That much he could tell.

_ “‘Come here little one,’” _ extending a hand and rolling back his shoulders, Anakin dropped onto his knees, purposefully ignoring the looks being sent his way. Rex and the other few troopers accompanying them kept the people back, giving them room as the Jedi urged her to come to him.

The wildness emanating from her didn’t dissipate but she followed through, coming close enough but never touching.

_ “‘Just keep following me,’” _ carefully rising from the ground, Ahsoka shivered as her palms pressed against the planet below as she got to her feet; stumbling like a newborn after him as he slowly walked backward, his eyes never once leaving her own.

Once they were out of the open and the noise level withered, her trembling began to slacken, minute by minute her glazed eyes started to clear, and finally words came tumbling out of her lips.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. 

“It’s okay, everythings all right,” Anakin assured offhandedly, coming closer while preparing to jump back if she didn’t like it. Ahsoka didn’t flinch as he hooked his fingers under her chin, gently turning her head sideways until he caught sight of her back lekku. He could only see the side of it, and it’d be a lot easier to assess the damage by getting behind her. Except he wanted her to be in control meaning she had to see what he was doing.

The blue and white looked purple from where it was already bruising, he could apply some bacta to the area but he didn’t want to admit he was a little scared to even touch her lekku after the ordeal, let alone apply the cold gel.

He briefly considered sending her back to the ship, Rex could even escort her. He could find the sepratist on his own, although he knew how Ahsoka would interpret that decision. 

“We need to keep looking for the separatist and I want you to stay close,” Anakin ordered instead, bringing her face back to look at him.

“Yes Master,” 

And just like that they were back at it again. Master and Padawan, as they should be.

**Author's Note:**

> snap: allisonw1122  
> tumblr/twitter: webtrinsic1122  
> insta: webtrinsic


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